A photo finish for an Olympic gold medal normally means heartbreak for the silver medallists. But the Australian men’s K4 500m Canoe Sprint crew are seeing the positives in winning silver rather than missing gold, by 0.04 seconds.

Neither the Australian crew of Riley Fitzsimmons, Pierre van der Westhuyzen, Jackson Collins and Noah Havard nor the German crew or the spectators knew who had won.  

“It was crazy,” Jackson said. “We didn’t know whether to celebrate, so I told everyone just wait.

“We’re waiting and looking at the board and nothing’s coming up. Then it came up, and seeing that you’re an Olympic medallist is an incredible feeling.”

Once the result was clear, Germany had defended their K4 title in 1:19.80, Australia won silver (1:19.84) and Spain claimed bronze (1:20.05). It is the first men’s K4 Olympic medal for Australia since London 2012.

It was a medal to savour for three-time Olympian Riley, collecting his first Olympic medal, and his three Olympic debutants. “I’ve sat on that dock and been bitterly disappointed with not picking up anything,” Riley said.

“So to come away with a silver medal, I’m so proud of how much hard work and sacrifice we’ve put in and to come away with something.”

While they don’t have the gold medal, they still hold the Olympic best time of 1:19.22 they set in the semi-finals just a couple of hours before the A Final.

“During training we were hitting really good times, so I was super confident we would come here really competitive,” Riley said.

To begin the dramatic final, the German team false-started to delayed proceedings.

“When they called the false-start there was a sense of ‘oh my god we’re going to have to turn around and do this again’,” Pierre said.

“We performed pretty well off our start in the second time around so we can’t be too disappointed.”

When the race was restarted, Germany had a clear lead, and Australia was two metres behind in third place.

By the halfway, the Australians were second and used the last 200m to draw closer and closer to the Germans. , who are the only Olympic champions in this event that was introduced at Tokyo 2020.

“We go out as hard as we can and then hold that speed. With 200m to go Jackson (Collins) goes ‘yep’, and then we try and lift from there.

“You could see those boats dropping back and we were going head-to-head with the Germans and then we were .04 off the gold medal. But I’m really happy with everything. We gave it everything we had.

“To be so close that initial feeling was a little disappointment but then it wears off pretty quick.”

After a celebratory swim moments after crossing the finish line, the team was met with a strong Aussie contingent, including family and friends, in the stands for their medal ceremony.

Jackson is now the second men’s Canoe Sprint Olympic silver medallist in his family. His dad Daniel is a four-time Aussie Olympian who won silver at Sydney 2000 and bronze at Atlanta 1996. His dad’s achievements were on his mind the night before.

“I thought about it a little bit last night,” Jackson said. “I tried to put it out of my mind this morning and just focus on our race.

“It was pretty special when I went over and saw him just before. He made a bit of a joke saying that we didn’t quite get the full set today. We’ve got two silver and bronze, so I’ll have to come back.

“I’ve got lots of family support here in Paris. I’m pretty lucky. My beautiful fiancé and her parents are here as well as my dad and grandfather, so it was really cool to have them in the stands.”

Pierre joins his brother and Paris 2024 Olympic teammate Jean van der Westhuyzen as an Olympic medallist. Jean won gold at Tokyo 2020 in the men’s K2 1000m and will compete in the semi-finals of the men’s K2 500m on Friday 9 August.

“To have a medal of my own, it’s not gold but it’s close enough. It’s just been amazing to share the last three years with Jean and walk on along that journey with him,” Pierre said.

“I’m really looking forward to sitting back and getting to cheer him on tomorrow.”

In the race before the men’s final, three-time Olympian Aly Bull with debutants Ella Beere, Ally Clarke and Yale Steinepreis finished eighth in the Women’s K4 500m final.

Like the men’s K4 team, the women won their semi-final just hours prior and set their best time of 1:34.25 in the semis, before their finals time of 1:35.96.

“We gave it everything,” Yale said. “I think we really wanted to be there in that final, and we pushed so hard in that semi.

“All we can ask for is a race we're proud of, and we really push ourselves hard in that semi. So I'm proud of us, and it was a hard race in that final.”

New Zealand won the gold in 1:32.30, with Germany the silver and Hungary the bronze.

Words courtesy of olympics.com.au.‍

‍Image courtesy of Garry Bowden.